Travel hostels – the best of expense and experience

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I have been to several travel hostels across the globe. Two words can explain why.

I booked my first hostel (Lisboa Central Hostel) in the summer of 2017 when planning a trip to Lisbon, Portugal. I couldn’t find a hotel because all hotels were either too expensive or sold out. So, I booked a hostel.

And boy, did I love my stay! And ever since, I have continued booking hostels on almost all my leisure travel journeys, despite having a massive store of hotel reward points that I accumulated from constantly traveling for work, and that I could have redeemed for free hotel nights.

And to date, I have been to 19 hostels across 9 countries and 3 continents (scroll, zoom in/out, and click on red circles in the map below to see the hostels I’ve stayed at).

But why did I do that? What’s so special about travel hostels? There are TWO reasons – EXPENSE and EXPERIENCE.

PART 1 – THE EXPENSE

“If you burn a hole in your pocket, how will you fill it with enough experiences?”

Travel hostels are highly affordable.

As a young kid in India during the 90s, I always felt travel was a luxury. Either you had to spend a fortune to enjoy an overseas vacation, or you had to sign up for a package tour. While a package tour was not a bad idea, it generally had a fixed schedule and did not allow you to make those last-minute change of plans to wholeheartedly enjoy your vacation your way – spending those extra few minutes swimming in the lake, staying on to enjoy the sunset by the beach, or stopping by the mountains again to click your tenth picture.

As years passed by, flights became cheaper. However, accommodation remained a sizeable expense in any vacation ledger, thus creating a travel barrier for many. But as with many industries, the Hospitality industry saw competition and innovation, which reduced the cost of travel for the consumer. And hostels have been an important driver of this revolution.

And there are two aspects that best explain why – Layout and Labor.

Travel hostels are affordable because they are able to keep their operating costs low due to the following two aspects:

1. Dormitory (or dorm) style layout: Building several dorm-style beds in a big hall with a shared bathroom is much cheaper than building private rooms separated by walls, each with its own bathroom. Additionally, having bunk beds further increases the usage of floor space and reduces costs.
2. Minimal and inexpensive labor: Typically, hostels have very limited staff usually consisting of:
   1. A front desk person – who manages check-ins and check-outs, and often doubles up as an awesome tour guide, and
   2. A janitor – who is equivalent to housekeeping in a hotel, except that there are no dedicated housekeepers in a hostel

That’s it! Most small hostels don’t go beyond this. In fact, I have been to a hostel (Osio Backpackers in Cordoba, Spain) that was run by just one elderly woman! At other times, the hostel staff consists of young students who are working part-time in the hostel, sometimes for no pay and in exchange for free accommodation. The Oasis Backpackers’ Palace in Sevilla, Spain, was one such hostel.

Having minimal labor that can multi-task, is a smart way to keep costs low, especially in North America and Western and Central Europe where labor is expensive.

Booking directly on a hostel’s website can get you an even better rate.

Let’s face it – we all love a good deal! And booking a room directly on a hostel’s website instead of booking through an online travel agent (OTA) such as Hostelworld gets you a better deal by allowing you to escape agent fees or commissions. Let me show you an example.

Upon a friend’s recommendation (shoutout to @arnzaa), I booked the House of Sandeman in Porto, Portugal – a hostel overlooking the gorgeous Porto skyline – on their website, which cost me just €30 (or $35) per night (see image below). The rooms were clean, and the hostel also offered free bath towels and toiletries.

When I recently looked up the rate almost 3 years later, the 7-bed dorm rate (or the rate for a bed in a 7-bed dorm room) for the night of Dec. 7, 2021, was cheaper, at €27.2 per night or $30.7.

However, if I were to make the same booking on Hostelworld, it would have been more expensive (see below). The total rate would have been €32 or $36.2, an excess of €4.8 over the Sandeman rate. This difference is exactly equal to the “Payable Now” fee or Hostelworld’s commission. Thus, you can avoid paying Hostelworld commission by booking directly on a hostel’s website. Sometimes, Hostelworld runs promotions so their rate might be cheaper than the hostel direct-booking rate, but I have found the hostel direct-booking rate to be almost always cheaper than the Hostelworld rate.

And sometimes, a hostel booking comes with its own perks!

Additionally, the hostel offered free bath towels and toiletries, and discounted rates to residents for its very popular Sandeman Port Wine cellar tour!

In other cases, a hostel collaborates with agencies that organize walking tours to get you discounted rates on those tours. And if you’re lucky, you might even get a free walking tour! Or they might give away half-price beers to residents at certain parties. The perks are many!

So, while I did not have the comfort of a private room, I did get a perfectly clean and comfortable dorm bed at a throwaway price, and multiple perks. Besides, isn’t the point of visiting a new place to maximize sightseeing time and minimize the time you spend in your booked room by perhaps, only getting a night’s sleep?

Finally, hostels also help reduce commuting costs.

Hostels are designed to serve backpackers traveling on a budget. Therefore, besides offering attractive room rates, they also locate themselves in prime areas of a city that are close to bus stops, train stations, retail stores, cafes, restaurants, and even some tourist hot spots, which helps reduce the cost of commuting from the hostel to these locations.

PART 2 – THE EXPERIENCE

Hostels are not only affordable but also designed to maximize social interaction…

Enjoying a new place with new people from different backgrounds has its own charm. And the way hostels are set up – with their dorm rooms and multiple shared spaces from the kitchen to the deck – there are plenty of opportunities to run into people, start conversations, and make friends.

I met Marina (@marinakryks), Libor (@liborko.jr), and Bruno (@brunobarnaba) at a LIT Halloween party at St. Christopher’s Inn in Barcelona. Hailing from 4 different countries (Argentina, Canada, Czech Republic, India) and 4 different continents with different backgrounds, we still got along quite well and explored some fantastic spots together in Barcelona. And we still keep in touch.

…provide access to gorgeous views due to their prime locations…

Hostel Meyerbeer in Nice, France is about a block away from the popular Nice promenade that runs along the Mediterranean coast and ends at the Nice Harbour where you get a gorgeous view of the boats.

…showcase the best of nature…

Imagine waking up to this view. This is what I saw from my room window as soon as I woke up on my first morning in the Backpackers Villa Sonnenhof hostel in Interlaken, Switzerland. It was one of the most soothing morning sights I have ever experienced.

…and provide the most unique staying experiences.

The Artemis Cave Suites in Nevsehir, Turkey, has rooms actually built inside a cave that used to house our ancient ancestors!

THE FINAL PART

So, while travel hostels are affordable and provide great experiences, there is a catch.

There’s no such thing as a free lunch, they say. And that is true for hostels too. First off, a hostel is not your mama’s place.

Or maybe it is if your mama didn’t take no shit. Either way, when they say, “make yourself feel at home”, you are supposed to treat it like your home – keep it clean, get the cereal out from the cabinet yourself, pour the milk yourself, and wash the utensils yourself (or put them in the dishwasher if you’re lucky to have one). That’s the case with most small mom-and-pop hostels, although larger chains of hostels like the St. Christopher’s Inn don’t require you to do that.

Not all services are hunky-dory, although the good outweighs the bad.

While I have never found hostel stays to be uncomfortable, there can be the occasional oops moments. Bad wi-fi and limited breakfast options are more common than others, however, I have never found cleanliness to be an issue.

That said the pros for the hostels definitely outweigh the cons. And I can assure you that you will hardly ever go wrong with choosing a highly rated hostel (4.5 stars+) from Hostelworld or any other website

And hostels have a certain reputation, but I want to tell you that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

Things aren’t always what they seem to be.

Backpackers and hostels get a bad rap for being filthy, but I have never found any hostel to be filthy. Hostels have a friendly and relaxed or lively vibe (depending upon the type of hostel) and I’ve found the staff to be mostly helpful to ensure your stay is enjoyable.

Hostels are able to offer low prices not because they are of low quality and cut corners, but because they operate differently than a hotel.

Either way, you wouldn’t know until you check into a hostel, so I would highly recommend you stay at one, whenever you get a chance!

That’s all, folks!

How did you like this post? What do you like or dislike about hostels? Is there a hostel that you’ve been completely impressed with? Feel free to drop a comment below or share this post with your family and friends.

Enjoy the rest of the holidays!

#travel #hostels #travelhostel #vacation